Schreck, 37, was arrested Thursday on 38 felony counts of theft by deception and forgery that involved the embezzlement of some $75,000 from 1999 to 2002. Police say more charges are pending, and believe the total amount stolen from the hospital's fund-raising branch could exceed $100,000.

The Danielsville woman, who began working at the hospital in October 1998, resigned from her position as secretary for the Athens Regional Foundation in June 2002 and immediately went to work for the American Cancer Society's Athens office, where she was arrested Thursday. American Cancer Society officials maintain they have no reason to believe she stole money from them.

According to arrest warrants, Schreck is accused of submitting bogus requisition forms to the hospital's finance department for hundreds of mall and Wal-Mart gift certificates, as well as forging the signatures of foundation employees.

The gift certificates ostensibly were to be given out to hospital employees and others in connection with fund-raising efforts, but no such programs were ever in place, Athens-Clarke financial crimes detective Beverly Russell said.

On several occasions, Schreck obtained checks made out to Georgia Square Mall in excess of $3,000 for ''event sponsorships'' like health fairs that didn't exist, Russell said.

One $1,465 check made out to Walt Disney World was for an alternative medicine convention that no hospital employee ever attended, Athens-Clarke Russell said. Likewise, $300 was spent for Atlanta Braves tickets that were never used in a charity raffle they were allegedly intended for, she said.

The Athens Regional Foundation is a fund-raising branch of the hospital that raises money for programs outside of the standard workings of Athens Regional Medical Center, including free services like the Loran Smith Center for Cancer Support and a guest house for family members of hospital patients. Schreck was a secretary for the foundation's director, Helene Schwartz, whose name was forged on several requisition forms, police said.

On Friday, Athens Regional Medical Center issued a brief statement about the arrest, saying after Schreck's departure from the fund development office ''we uncovered irregularities in expense reports.''

After an investigation by the hospital's internal audit department, the information gathered was turned over to Athens-Clarke police, hospital officials said.

''There is now an ongoing investigation, and we have been advised not to comment any further at this time,'' the statement concluded.

Russell said police were alerted about two weeks ago and kept the investigation closely guarded until Schreck's arrest.

''We were scared she was going to flee,'' Russell said.

Schreck remains in the Clarke County jail with bond set at $45,000.

The hospital would not comment on what oversight procedures were in place at the time of the theft and how checks for non-existent programs and health fairs were issued by the finance department to begin with.

At the time of her arrest, Schreck was working as a cancer control manager for the American Cancer Society's office on Gaines School Road. Schreck helped with educational and support programs for the Athens area, said Cancer Society spokeswoman Elissa McCrary.

Asked if Schreck was suspected of stealing from her new work place, McCrary said, ''absolutely not.''

''I can tell you all of our employees go through a stringent background check, and obviously there was nothing in her background that we found,'' she said.

American Cancer Society spokeswoman Lori Stephens said a preliminary audit of the Athens office's accounts since Schreck's arrest has turned up no irregularities.

Russell, who spent five hours on Friday interviewing hospital officials, indicated detectives would also be looking into Schreck's activities at the American Cancer Society office. More charges are expected to be filed soon in the hospital theft, she said.